The quality of initial VET: Cross site analysis and the development of a scientifically based assessment tool
The notion of training quality is becoming increasingly important in policy discussions on vocational education and training in Switzerland, where it has been an integral part of the Federal Vocational and Professional Education and Training Act (VPETA) for over 10 years.
The effectiveness of Swiss dual-track VET programmes is recognised both nationally and globally, based in particular on economic indicators such as youth unemployment rates. If we are to develop the quality of this skill formation system, in which most young people in Switzerland participate, greater focus needs to be placed on how the various stakeholders in the system (learners, vocational schoolteachers and workplace trainers) define and perceive the quality of this training. In this way, promoting the quality of training could encourage the development of skills, improve the commitment of learners to their training and even reduce the risk of apprenticeship’s termination during training.
This study set out to investigate the quality of initial VET (IVET) from the perspective of the different stakeholders involved: learners, vocational schoolteachers and workplace trainers. A further aim of the project was to identify those factors of quality that either promote or inhibit the commitment and skills development of learners at the two main learning locations (i.e., the training company and the vocational school). Finally, with a view to implementation, a formative assessment tool was developed in cooperation with vocational schoolteachers and workplace trainers, thus allowing them to take learners’ perceptions of their VET programmes into consideration and potentially modify their practices.
The project focused on four occupational fields, specifically those that tend to have the highest apprenticeship contract termination rates: (a) hair and beauty, (b) commercial employee, (c) construction and (d) retail. This choice of occupational field allowed us to form an intricate and critical picture of the quality of IVET. While some aspects of quality were common to all four occupational fields, specific features also emerged.
Once completed, this study improved our understanding of the quality of IVET and provided vocational schoolteachers and workplace trainers with a practical assessment tool.
The project consisted of several studies and combined different data collection and analysis methods – both qualitative and quantitative. There were three phases involving the various stakeholders in the four occupational fields mentioned above:
- In the first phase, focus groups were convened to identify the features that learners, vocational schoolteachers and workplace trainers associate with high-quality education and training programmes.
- Based on the feedback from the first phase, a scientifically verified questionnaire was developed that prompted learners to give their views on the quality of their education and training, both at the vocational school and at the training company. The correlation between learners’ perceptions of quality, their commitment and their skills development was then analysed by means of a questionnaire-based survey distributed to approximately 100 classes.
- Working together with the eventual users, the initially developed questionnaire was then further adapted to enable vocational schoolteachers and workplace trainers to undertake a formative quality assessment of the vocational education and training provided.
The results from different phases of the project brought to light 13 different dimensions characterising the perceived quality of dual-track VET programmes. Certain dimensions involve the link between learning locations, others specifically involve the vocational school on one hand and the training company on the other. IDAQ (Inventory of the Dual Apprenticeship Quality), a scientifically-based assessment tool, was developed from these perceived quality characteristics. It allows supervisors (teaching staff and workplace trainers) and learners to identify which aspects of training could be considered as strong points and which may be seen as weak points. In this way, it allows supervisors to be informed about the training and gives them the opportunity to adjust their approach and at the same time, allows them to communicate with learners about their experiences.
A website provides all the information about Inventory of the Dual Apprenticeship Quality (IDAQ).